Government opens review of the zero emission vehicle mandate

The Department for Transport has launched a review of the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, published alongside a formal consultation on the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes Order. The consultation opened on 14 August 2026 and closes on 23 October 2026.

The consultation covers the current ZEV trajectory and yearly targets, the compliance flexibilities available to manufacturers including credit trading and banking, alternative policy options, and the carbon impacts of those options. Most parts are run jointly with the Scottish and Welsh Governments and Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure, while the part dealing with the 2030 definition of the phase-out of new petrol and diesel cars is reserved to the UK Parliament.

In its announcement the department states that more than one in four new cars sold are now electric, that July 2026 electric vehicle sales were up 45% year on year, that more than two million electric vehicles are now registered in the UK, and that the Electric Car Grant of up to £3,750 has helped over 160,000 buyers since launching in July.

For pallet and packaging operators running their own vehicles, the review is the route through which future vehicle availability and fleet replacement costs will be set, so responses close in October.